Kobe interested in return to the Olympics in 2012

Kobe Bryant has made it known that he’s interested in becoming a member of the 2012 U.S. Olympic team that will try to defend its gold medal in London.

The Lakers’ shooting guard committed to it Tuesday on Mike Kryzewski’s radio show on Sirius XM. Krzyzewski coaches Team USA and Duke and almost had Bryant as a college player before he decided to skip college to head directly to the NBA in 1996.

“You get a chance to see and meet the greatest athletes in the world,” Bryant told reporters after the Lakers’ victory over Memphis Tuesday night. “Aside from just the basketball part of it and being with a great group of guys, it’s an opportunity to meet some of the best at what they do. It’s great for me, I get a chance to talk to them and meet them and go to their events and watch new sports. It’s just a blast.”

Bryant was a key producer for the United States’ gold-medal team in 2008 at Beijing. He hasn’t been involved in off-season activities for the team in 2009 or during the past off-season. His teammate Lamar Odom had a big role in the U.S. team that won the world championships in Turkey two months ago.

It was interesting that Bryant made himself available for rare one-on-one interviews with ESPN and NBA-TV last night. In neither case was his Olympic commitment discussed.